Twas the Night Before Boston

What a trip Boston has been! Let me try to catch up everything that we have been up to. We got into Boston Friday night and got a very late dinner at 5 Napkin Burger. I had the the Ahi Tuna Burger and it was A-MAZ-ING! We got up early Saturday and walked to the Expo that was super close to our hotel. First a picture in front of the oldest Firestation in the USA.

We got to the Expo at 9:15am, it opened at 9am. It was a very short line at this time and we were quickly inside getting my packet. 🙂

I chatted up the girl in front of me in the line. Her boyfriend (now fiance) proposed to her at the Startline the day before! How cool! He was also running in the marathon, they were both very nice. I congratulated them, wished them well on their race and was off to the take a picture of my bib and get my marathon shirt.

EEEEE! 😀

After the Boston Marathon shirt, was the adidas portion of the Expo. We loved the murals so we got a couple of shots. I then loaded up on more Boston gear. 🙂

One more bib number shot before we head out.

The rest of the morning we walked around and took pictures of the amazing buildings. Then it was off to our first Red Sox game!

Our seats were in the bleachers, front row, staring down home plate, Section 36. Great seats if you are looking to check out a game.

The green monster.

It was freezing out. Rob and I were turning into popcicles out there. We were loving the game, but were sniffling and shivering the entire time. Just after the third inning we gave up and left. We got souveniers and enjoyed seeing them hit a home run and they were in the lead. We gave a our tickets to a family that was separated from their kids so they could all sit together for the remainder of the game. Turns out that after we left absolutely no other runs were made, nothing else happend so we didn’t miss any awesome plays. Red Sox Win!!!

Before we left we got a few more pictures.

After warming up in the hotel hot tub we dressed warm for an easy run around the Boston area. We didn’t venture far and it wasn’t much of a run because the area was quite crowded. However we did get pictures at the finish line!

That evening it was time for dinner and I was ready for seafood. We went with our friend Abby’s recommendation to go to Union Oyster House.

So a little bit about this place. First, best Chowda we’ve ever had. Ridiculous good. Same for the oysters, amazing! So fresh, earthly, but crisp tasting. Tip for those planning to check it out, we didn’t make a reservation so it was going to be a 2 hour wait. We didn’t care, we were fine just hanging out at the bar, but this place is packed. We realized that the oyster bar that seats about 10 is a first come first served situation. Make eye contact with the oyster bartender to get “on next” when someone gets up. Then you can either enjoy oysters or chowda while you wait for your table, or do like we did and just eat your whole meal right there. While we sat, drank and ate, we chatted up the people sitting at the bar. There was John, Peggy and their daughter Sarah. With a little encouragement we had John and Peggy slurping oysters. Another nice couple on the other side (sorry I forget their names) and after them a couple sit down and the guy is from our hometown! Not only that his dad works for our company as a lawyer, small world! It was a great experience and the food was outstanding. It’s the oldest restaurant in USA on record. It’s a MUST visit. The area around here is great, the Cheers bar and Mike’s Pastry are also in the vicinity, but it was rainy out so we called it a night after dinner.

Blurry picture of the oyster shucking at the bar.

Rob and I each got fresh lobsters.

Sunday we met up with blogger Alaina for lunch at Parish Cafe. Rob and I split Vegetarian Corn Cakes that were phenominal! Then I had part of a hummus veggie wrap and red skin potato salad.

Alaina is a local and works at a beautiful and historic Fairmont Hotel. We toured the hotel and Alberto Salazar walked by! We were able to shake his hand and he said “good luck tomorrow in the race”, very cool!

Alaina was so sweet and share with us restaurants and locations to check out when in Boston.

Me and Alaina in front of the Fairmont Hotel.

Later we had our first Pinkberry!! For those of you that have Pinkberry near you, you have no idea how monumental this was for me! It is a tart tasting yogurt with fresh fruit toppings, as many as you can get to fit into the cup. So delicious!

Then we spent time at Niketown. The store was top to bottom in Boston decor, complete with DJ and staff ringing cowbells.

You WILL dominate tomorrow, you dont need luck! You have trained and you are ready! I cannot wait to read the recap after the race on Monday! Please keep us updated and I will be thinking about you during the race! 😀

Looks like you guys are having a great time! I hope the Red Sox game was fun too! Good luck today! I know you will do great! You and Rob have a BEEEEEA (pronounced beer in Illinois) for me when your done! I can’t wait to hear about the trip! !

hey! i recognize the oldest fire station in the United States 🙂 So proud of you and all the hard work you’ve done to get to where you are. Can’t wait to see you when you get back so we can have a wicked pissah in Bloomington 🙂